Bob R took these pictures on Sept 29. Ice is beginning to form at the cables. What is there won't thaw until next July or August. It is currently easy to walk past the ice on the rocks.
Bob reports that the spring at Switchback 23 is frozen/dry in the mornings, but running again in the afternoon. It all depends on the temperatures and the amount of melting going on farther up the slope.
With the cold and frosty mornings, beware that rocks on the trail can become slippery with frost. ...Last year, one group of hikers had to turn around at a stream crossing when one of their members stepped on a rock in the middle of the stream that had a layer of ice. (They had started their hike in the dark, so they couldn't see the difference between wet and icy rocks with their headlamps.) The hiker did a face plant in the stream! Be careful!!!
